Ban on pot clubs returns for board consideration

Feb. 21, 2013

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After failing to generate enough support from town board members at the Feb. 11 Town Board meeting, Mayor John Vazquez announced Monday that he plans to bring back an ordinance that could potentially ban private marijuana clubs from forming in Windsor.

The board initially discussed a potential ban several weeks ago but decided to vote on a marijuana club moratorium instead at the Feb. 11 meeting. But the first ordinance, which was given an emergency status that would have allowed it to pass through on first reading, was two votes shy of the super majority it needed. Had it passed, marijuana clubs would be forbidden from Windsor until at least the end of the year while board members worked on a more permanent solution.

Unlike last week’s moratorium, Vazquez said the new proposed ordinance he announced Monday would be a full-out ban.

“We’re not trying to infringe on anybody’s individual rights here,” Vazquez said Tuesday. “They can do anything they want in the privacy of their own home. What we’re trying to do here is halt the promotion of recreational marijuana use in our business district.”

Board members Jeremy Rose and Robert Bishop-Cotner were the two dissenting votes against the moratorium last week. Rose, who spoke openly during the discussion, said he didn’t agree with pushing the ordinance through on first reading.

But, according to Vazquez, since this new ban he proposed would be going through a normal two-read process starting at next week’s meeting, more board members are on board.

“When it failed, that’s fine,” Vazquez said. “I’ll support the board. We didn’t get the super majority necessary.”

“Now we’ll go through the normal process, with a first reading and second reading,” he added. “Then we’ll go from there.”

Bishop-Cotner and Rose were unable to return calls for comment by deadline.